Missouri nurses say easing restrictions could solve rural health care staffing issues
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Some Missouri nurses are advocating for lawmakers to remove restrictions on their practice so they can stay in rural communities without needing a physician.
Missouri is one of 10 states that still requires advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to be signed on with a physician to see patients. Some nurses are advocating for full practice authority, which would remove that restriction.
A Senate bill and a House bill have been introduced that would lift restrictions. They were both amended in committee to still require a collaborative agreement with a physician because of pressure from doctors. Both bills passed committees and are waiting to be pulled into full chambers for debate.
Jason Portell, a nurse practitioner in rural central Missouri, said this restriction forces nurses to leave communities they've been serving for years because they lose their collaborating physician.
"The minute that a collaborative agreement ends, that ends the ability of a nurse practitioner to take care of a patient," Portell said.
As a rural health care worker, Portell said he sees the struggles people face when there is not a doctor nearby.
"They're struggling to get health care where they're at without driving long distances, get time off from work," Portell said.
Wednesday afternoon, while nurses were meeting with Gov. Mike Parson about these restrictions, House lawmakers were downstairs hearing a presentation from Missouri Health Net, the state's Medicaid program. Kirk Mathews, chief transformation officer at Office of Medicaid Transformation, told lawmakers rural hospitals are suffering from a staffing shortage.
"We don't have enough training programs to train enough people to train our way out of the health care workforce shortage, so we have to look at innovations, technologies, et cetera," Mathews said.
